Quinnipiac recruiting notes 3/6/17

The Quinnipiac Bobcats wrapped up the season on home ice by sweeping out the Brown Bears in the ECAC first round this past weekend at High Point Solutions Arena. Rand Pecknold's squad now heads to North Country to face the number four seed Saint Lawrence University Saints in a best-of-3 quarterfinal series for the right to reach the semifinals in Lake Placid. Quinnipiac is playing with a lot of momentum as it heads north, having won five games in a row, the longest winning streak of the season. Its a good time for a long winning streak as the only way into the NCAA tournament is to continue to win. The future Quinnipiac hockey players are starting to see their junior seasons end with playoffs starting for a bunch of them. Let's take a look at how some of the future Bobcats did over the course of the last week.

Matt Forchuk (photo by Pam Doyle)

Matt Forchuk of the Canmore Eagles won the Alberta Junior Hockey League scoring title this weekend with a four point weekend (3 goals and 1 assist) edging his teammate Logan Ferguson. The 1996 forward out of Okotoks, Alberta finished the regular season with 97 points (32 goals and 65 assists) in 56 games played. He missed four games for Canmore this season denying him the chance to reach 100 points. Forchuk had a league high 1.7 points per game average along with leading the league with 33 power play assists. His 42 power play points were also a league high as well. In three seasons with Canmore, Forchuk scored 201 points (72 goals and 129 assists) in 162 regular season games played. He is expected to come into Hamden in the fall and make an immediate impact on the scoring sheet to boost the Bobcats offense.

Another incoming Bobcat recruit ended the regular season on a high note. Brooks Bandits (AJHL) 1996 defenseman Joe O'Connor, a native of Hamden has been dominant in his last four games played with 11 points (4 goals and 7 assists). He missed the majority of the season due to an upper body injury but since returning he is averaging 1.2 points per game on the blue line in 19 games played. He finished the season with 22 points (6 goals and 16 assists) and is playing with surefire NHL first round draft pick Cale Makar (UMass Amherst commit) as his defensive pairing. A season ago he put up 52 points in 55 games for Brooks. He should be a player that can make an impact on the blue line next season with his size and offensive ability.

Keith Petruzzelli (photo by Muskegon Lumberjacks)

Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) 1999 goaltender Keith Petruzzelli has been strong in four of his last five games giving up just a single goal in each of those four games. The top ranked North American goaltender by Central Scouting is having a strong rookie season in the USHL and catching the eyes of many professional scouts across the NHL. At this point he looks to be someone destined for the second round of the NHL draft possibly even higher by the time the draft rolls around in June. In 28 games played he is 17-9 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .910 save percentage with two shutouts. His 17 wins lead all rookie goaltenders. Recently he was featured in the March 2017 edition of the New England Hockey Journal in an article by Kirk Luedeke who has him as the top New England draft prospect available.

Odeen Tufto had a pair of goals in Saturday's 3-2 win for the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL). The 1997 forward from Chaska, Minnesota native has seven points in ten games since being acquired in a trade from the Tri-City Storm. This season in 48 games played he has 35 points (11 goals and 24 assists). He originally began this season with the Fargo Force before his first trade to Tri-City. Having already signed his letter of intent with the Bobcats he is expected to be part of the incoming 2017 Quinnipiac recruiting class though he does have another season of junior hockey eligibility.

1998 forward Michael Lombardi helped his team Kimball Union Academy win the New England Prep School Stuart/Corkey Division Championship over the Rivers School this past weekend. Lombardi finished the regular season with 50 points (19 goals and 31 assists) in 39 games. He averaged 1.28 points per game for the year. He will now embark on a junior career before he reaches Hamden. Congrats to Michael and the rest of his Kimball Union teammates on a hard earned championship.

1999 forward Corey Clifton's high school career came in an end in the semifinals of the NJSIAA/Devils Non-Public Tournament in a loss to top seeded Delbarton 6-3. Clifton who had a goal in the game for Christian Brothers Academy, finished his high school season with 23 points (13 goals and 10 assists) in 13 games played. Clifton is now expected to play at least a season or two of junior hockey before enrolling at Quinnipiac.

Another New Jersey high school player committed to Quinnipiac is playing for the state championship of the NJSIAA/Devils Non-Public Tournament. 2000 defenseman John Campomenosi is playing for Don Bosco Prep against top seeded Delbarton on Monday March 6th. Campomenosi has only played in two games this season due to a injury suffered earlier in the season. He has two assists this year. Good luck to John and the rest of his Don Bosco teammates in tonight's game.

Steele Subaru Major Midgets 2002 forward Jacob Quillan has six assists in his teams first four playoff games. The highlight was a four assist game on March 2nd in a 9-1 win against the Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs. Quillan finished the regular season with 28 points (8 goals and 20 assists) in 36 games played as the youngest player on the team. He played this season with players a year or two older than him. His older brother Nick Quillan is committed to play this fall at ECAC rival Colgate.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.